Advanced Manufacturing Plant.
A greenfield manufacturing facility delivered to a fixed production start-up — commissioned on date, with the line coming up on plan.
A start-up date set by the market, not the build.
The manufacturer had committed to a production start-up date driven by customer demand — long before the greenfield site was cleared. Equipment lead times ran longer than the construction schedule, and commissioning, not concrete, sat on the critical path.
CREO was engaged as owner's representative and project controls lead: accountable for cost and schedule across the EPC and equipment vendors, and for protecting the start-up through ramp-up.
- Project & cost controls
- Owner's representation
- Common data environment (PMIS)
- Long-lead procurement sequencing
- Commissioning support
- Claims avoidance & support
The challenge
Major process equipment carried lead times measured in quarters, and a single late delivery could push commissioning past the committed start-up. Construction, vendors, and the commissioning team were each working to their own schedule.
The owner needed one integrated plan — procurement, construction, and commissioning on a single critical path, sequenced backward from the start-up date.
Our approach
- 01Sequenced the schedule from start-up backwardBuilt one integrated model working back from the production date — so every procurement and construction milestone served commissioning.
- 02Tracked long-lead procurement to the critical pathTied every major equipment order to the schedule, flagging delivery risk before it reached the field.
- 03Integrated commissioning earlyBrought commissioning into the plan from the start, so mechanical completion handed straight into start-up without a gap.
- 04Kept the record claim-readyDocumented every delay and change as it happened — protecting the owner across EPC and vendor contracts.
On the line, on the date.
“CREO ran the whole program back from our start-up date. Procurement, construction, and commissioning were one plan — so nothing surprised us. The line came up exactly when we promised our customers.”